A gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, an inlet section, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air enters the inlet section and flows to the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel mixes with the compressed air and burns within the combustion section, thereby creating combustion gases. The combustion gases flow from the combustion section through a hot gas path defined within the turbine section and then exit the turbine section via the exhaust section.
The compressor section may include one or more axially spaced apart stages. Each stage may include a row of circumferentially spaced apart stator vanes and a row of circumferentially spaced apart rotor blades positioned downstream of the row of stator vanes. The stator vanes direct the air flowing through the compressor section onto the rotor blades, which impart kinetic energy into the air to increase the pressure thereof.
In particular configurations, compressed air may be bled from the compressor section for a variety of uses, such as pressurizing sumps and/or cooling various components (e.g., components in the turbine section). Typically, this air is bled from the outer periphery of the compressor section, thereby requiring a complex piping system to route the bleed air to the appropriate location (e.g., a sump). This external piping system is undesirable as it increases the weight, complexity, and overall cost of the gas turbine engine.